Betts and Authentic..

[MikeSlub]

The guys at Gibson said that the Custom Authentic series is supposed to be like a well-played LP that someone has owned over many years. Many LP players put Grovers on their guitars after a while, and that's why they put Grovers on this model. It isn't supposed to be historically accurate, but more like what has really happened with a number of old LPs over time. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and others did this.

 

[Sean]

Thanks Robert D, I'm just curious really, I not *really* in the market.... (I keep telling myself that! )

 

[BrianGWN]

I will quote the glossy info I got from the Custom Shop trailer during it's recent visit up here. I don't know if this is any more up to date or accurate compared to the information that Mike/Karl obtained...

>>>
Gibson's Custom Shop presents an incredible re-creation of the aftermarket Les Paul, the Custom Authentic. We'll give you a head start on your very own "broken in" Les Paul. We've taken three all-time favorite models and amazingly simulated the effects of years of normal wear.
Each guitar features a hand-worn finish, aged hardware, Grover tuners, a hard-shell case and certificate of authenticity.

Gibson Artist Authentics are limited editions of classic Gibson instruments that feature specific modifications designed to replicate the guitars used by popular Gibson players, right down to the years of normal wear. The first two editions of this series are the Dickey Betts 1957 Ultra-Aged Goldtop and the Andy Summers 1960 ES335.
<<<

In the page for Betts, they indicate only 114 units will be produced, don't have any idea where the number 114 came from. It also includes a faux alligator skin case, whooohoooo !!
With the Andy Summers ES335, only 50 units will be produced.

With only 114 Betts scheduled to be made, I seriously doubt a lefty would be built... unless somebody with A LOT of influence managed to talk Gibson into it, but I seriously doubt it, it's just a simple matter of numbers.

By the way, the trailer had one each of those three Custom Authentics, the 58 LP Standard with the Grovers reminded me of the JPage thing.

 

[Sean]

BG! Have you seen Karl's photo of the Bett's Goldtop? AAAWWW!!!

We should start a campaign, on Paul McCartney's behalf. It's in his interests, Gibson are choosing to insult him as well as us mere mortals, plus he might buy us one each in gratitude...

BOOO, Gibson, BOOOOOOOOOO!!

 

[Dave Paetow]

Dave R told me he's had a lot of inquiries on the Betts goldtops already, I think he pre-sold some already, too. I think he told me they were around $5400.

 

[Snags]

Finally! Vengeance is mine!!!

So, is the Betts GT supposed to sound JUST LIKE his PRS? :lolspin :lol1 :lol2 spin

 

[jimmyj]

OK, I'll bite (again) sorry

God, I hope not!

Much as I got on my soapbox about PRSs being good guitars in their own right, I sure didn't like DB with his. Even he didn't make it sound like a Les Paul. :lol2

BTW, I'm going to see the Betts band at the Cabooz in a few weeks. Will Mayor McCheese be there?

I know, I know.. I'll go lay by my dish.:halo

 

[RobertD]

I noticed that Dave's has a Custom Authenic for sale on his website. I believe it was $3600.

 

[daze]

Yum - she sure looks good RobertD - that top is just right - not too tight or too loose, colour not too washed out IMHO :dude

DAZE

 

[John Catto]

Sorry while I think I like the result, Ed R's hit this one on the head it's just marketing. They SKIP a buffing stage, not a full aging process and put a set of Grovers on. Last time I looked in a Stew Mac catalogue (10 seconds ago ) a set of Gotoh Klusonalikes in Nickle(what I think they normally use) were $34.50 while a set of Nickle Grover Rotomatics were $30.65..thats 4 bucks CHEAPER. So they age the hardware, just where does the cash go!

 

[Dave Paetow]

Hey Jimmy
I didn't even know Dickey was going to be playing at the Cabooze! When is it? I may be able to go.

 

[LHakim]

But, if you aged a "stock" 57GT yourself and replaced the klusons w/ grovers aren't you hurting the resale value of the guitar? I see an advantage in having factory-supplied aging and grovers as original equipment for the investment value alone.

 

[Stymie]

'57 Goldie RI Differences...

Does this pretty well sum up the differences across the three '57 Goldtop RI models as we understand it today?


'57 Historic Goldtop Reissue
- Caramel back (dark back on special order)
- Klusons
- Black Historic Case
- $2100-$2300 Street Price


'57 Historic Aged Goldtop Reissue
- Caramel back
- Klusons
- Brown Lifton RI Case
- "Aged"
- $3500-3800 Street Price


'57 Dickie Betts Artist Authentic Goldtop
- Grovers
- 'Gator Case
- Black Historic Case
- "Ultra Aged"
- Limited Edition (114?)
- $5400 Street Price


I wonder how many '01 Aged Goldies there are, is it really a significantly larger number than the planned 114 Betts guitars? My '01 Aged Goldtop has some pretty significant aging on it (lots of checking, fretboard edges, hardware, etc), maybe Mike and/or Karl can give us some more insights into what exactly "Ultra Aged" means? I've seen lots of old Goldtops that have "greened" pretty badly, but from Karl's photos, it doesn't look like they went there with the Betts guitar. Thanks for any insights you guys can provide, from the "hands on" perspective.

 

[Sean]

Nice guitar, Stymie! I like the fretboard, nice and dark, like the Betts one.

Personally, I think the Betts *does* look quite green, and the inlays look good as well.

 

[Stymie]

Thanks Sean! Yeah, it's a pretty cool looking guitar. Sounds great too. Not sure I'm a big fan of the smaller frets on the '01 guitars, but the neck feels killer with the rolled fretboard edges. I may need to work on doing that to my R9 as well. The fretboard on this thing is BLACK! It looks great against that dull gold finish. The inlays are very grey and smoky looking, much less "white" than on my R9.

I ended up darkening the board on my R9, as it just looked too brown for my tastes. Between darkening the board and the double-creme pickups, the lemonburst transformed into an "old" looking piece as well. You can click on the WWW box below to check out before and after pics of the lemonburst.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

It was my impression that hte '01s had lower, but wider, frets on them.
That last picture illustrates a theory that I have, that's somewhat covered in the Beauty of the Burst book. See how the tiny grain dots in teh neck don't run parallel to the fretboard, but instead tilt somewhat at the same angle as the headstock might? They cut that thing out of a chunk of wood with the headstock aligned to the grain, not the fretboard-just like the old ones. This adds strength to the truss rod area just above the nut.
It looks SWEET. My '58 GT had far worse checking and dings on it- the upper bout had armwear through teh lacuer into teh wood after only 5 years of playing it. When I got it it had a few checks but no wear at all.
One thing I sort of disagree with is the pattern of the checking- I wonder how Tom explains the perpendicular checking? On the horn and near the bridge he's got checks running cross-grain, but at the lower bout by the knobs he's got checking running parallel with the grain. I can't remember seeing that on a guitar before.
Either way, now you've got me jonesing for my '58 again. Dammit.

 

[jimmyj]

Betts in the Twin Cities

Dave,

The boy (as Homer says) called me Sunday and said the Betts Band is at the Cabooze on Tueday, August 28. A Tuesday is a little awkward since I live about 4 hours away but I last saw Forrest Richard play in person about 4 years before the aforementioned son was born so I think I'm due.
Besides, Josh is just starting to really get hip to the Allman/Betts thing so I think he'd get into it big time. Add in the quality time thing and I can't hardly miss it.

 

[Stymie]

Ed, I'd say your impression on the '01 frets is correct, if my guitars are any indication. They measure up as follows:

'00 R9 - 0.090" Wide by 0.048" Tall
'01 R7 - 0.103" Wide by 0.043" Tall

The '01 frets feel WAY shorter when I play the guitar. Not un-playable or anything, you just feel a lot more of the board. Kinda wild how much of a difference in feel five thousandths makes, innit? The frets are visibly wider, you don't need the caliper to be able to tell the difference when they're side by side. Same with the bindings. The '01 binding is noticeably narrower, but for my untrained eyes, they need to be side-by-side to really illustrate the difference.

Ed, the different angles of the shots may be throwing you, the checking all runs in the same direction. If you use the strings as a guide, you can see that all of the checking runs perpendicular to the strings. The only exceptions to this are the little "wiggles" on a couple of the checks, but those terminate at a ding in the wood. I find the aging job to be pretty decent, overall.

 

[Stymie]

Monster Neck...

One other observation about this Aged Goldie is the friggin fencepost neck on this sucka. Monster neck, significantly bigger than any of the other Historic LP's that have passed thru my hands in recent history. I know that many have commented on the board about the '01s having even bigger necks, and this Goldie is no exception. I'll make a new thread with some neck measurements from some recent Historics, in the event that anyone's interested.

 

[The Fet]

Betts and Authentic

Stymie - Great looking guitars. The R9 looks super after darkening the board. I also have a YK2 R9 and would like to darken the board. Could you explain how you did it because so far I have not done this because I've been scared I did the wrong thing.

Regarding the aged R7 - I am cosidering getting one, I love the colour of the top and the vibe, but I'm a bit unsure about the durability of the finish to playing wear. Have you noticed any problems with this?

The Fet